Captain's Pips
by cripeswolfdee
Summary: Tucker wakes up to find himself on Enterprise, but it's not his Enterprise.
1. What's going on?

Summary: Tucker wakes up to find himself on Enterprise, but it's not *his* Enterprise.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, nor do I use them to get money. I write about them because it's fun, and because other people enjoy it.  
  
Author's Note: I realize I mention some technology that is not around yet. Sorry. I'm not gonna change it, so just pretend like it is in existence. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the story anyway.  
  
Feedback: Welcome and needed.  
  
Archive: Ask and you most likely will receive. :)  
  
Captain's Pips  
  
  
  
What was going on?  
  
Commander Tucker walked out of his quarters and looked up and down the halls. Silence. Dead silence. He ran a hand across the back of his neck in thought. He was used to going to sleep with the laughing of his younger crewmates walking up and down the hall. It was a Saturday night after all. But tonight, there was nobody. He shrugged and went back into his room. Maybe tonight he'd get a good night's rest.  
  
He was deep in sleep when T'Pol's voice woke him up. "Commander Tucker, I need to see you." She said from his wall.  
  
Tucker groaned and stretched. "Is it important T'Pol?"  
  
"Very. Meet me in my Ready Room." Then she closed the signal.  
  
Ready Room? Since when did she call her living room her Ready Room? Tucker shrugged again and pulled a shirt on. He'd go talk to her, but he wasn't going to dress up or anything. He didn't even do that with Jon.  
  
Tucker went to T'Pol's quarters and pushed her 'doorbell'. The door opened a few moments later and Tucker looked into the face of Ensign Jordan Livers. "Commander?" The young man asked.  
  
"What are you doing in Sub-Commander T'Pol's quarters?" Tucker demanded. True, he didn't have any real claim on her, but he did.  
  
Livers blinked at him. "Commander…these have been my quarters for months."  
  
Tucker took a step back. Did he get the wrong door? He looked up and around him. No, this was T'Pol's room. What was going on? He nodded to Livers and the door closed as the younger man went back inside 'his' room.  
  
"Commander Tucker, I said my Ready Room." T'Pol's voice boomed over the silent hallway.  
  
"On my way." Tucker said. He briskly walked to the Captain's Ready Room. Maybe this was some sort of ship-wide joke. Maybe everyone was in on it. Even T'Pol. Tucker smiled to himself. He had to hand it to Jon. It was difficult getting the Vulcan do to anything for the amusement of others.  
  
He entered the Ready Room and T'Pol sat behind the desk. She looked up when he entered. "We're being followed." She said smoothly.  
  
Tucker smiled. "Ok, jokes over. I know this is a joke. Come out anytime you want Jon."  
  
T'Pol raised her eyebrow. "The Andorians, they are following us." She said, clarifying what she'd said earlier.  
  
"The Andorians? Can't make up anything better then that?"  
  
"I am not making this up." She stood up.  
  
Tucker continued to smile. "You're good. But of course you are, you're a Vulcan. Any human would have given themselves up by now. They'd have broke out into a smile or something. Which would be why Jon had you pretend to be the Captain." Tucker shook his head. He almost thought something weird was going on.  
  
T'Pol crossed her arms. "I am the Captain." She said sternly.  
  
Tucker's smile faltered for a moment. She was very believable. "How'd he put you up to this?"  
  
"I do not know what you are talking about."  
  
She was holding onto this way too long. He knew they were acting. The joke was over. But, maybe because she was a Vulcan she wouldn't know when to stop. "T'Pol, I know it's all a joke. You can stop pretending now." He looked around the room. "Where's Jon?"  
  
"What are you talking about? You know where he is. You were the one who decided to put him there." T'Pol said. She sounded annoyed.  
  
Tucker snapped his eyes back at her. For the first time he looked at what she was wearing. A Starfleet uniform. She had Captain's pips on. Tucker counted them three times. Yup. There were four of them. He stepped back and sat down in one of the chairs. He was finding it hard to breathe. "Where is Jon?" He asked again.  
  
"Commander…" T'Pol, still sounding annoyed, but her voice had softened, said. "You know-"  
  
"Pretend like I don't." Tucker said.  
  
T'Pol locked eyes with him, then looked out the window. "You said that was where he would want to be."  
  
Tucker put his head between his legs and tried to breathe. Was she…was she telling him that the Captain…that Jon…was dead? The thought made him hyperventilate even more and he clutched at his legs for air.  
  
T'Pol went to the wall and hit the beacon. "T'Pol to Phlox. We need you in my Ready Room right away."  
  
"On my way." Phlox' voice said. 


	2. Amenisia?

2/?  
  
Tucker opened his eyes and looked around him. He was in sickbay. It looked the same. Tucker blinked and sat up. Maybe he'd just imagined it all. He'd probably hit his head or something. He ran a hand through his hair to feel the bump, but there wasn't one.  
  
Phlox rushed to him. "Feeling better?"  
  
Tucker smiled at him. "I think so."  
  
Phlox nodded. He ran a few quick scans. "You breathing ok?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks."  
  
Phlox nodded again. "The Captain told me to tell you to meet her in the Ready Room when you were well enough."  
  
Tucker snapped his eyes on Phlox. "Don't you mean him? To meet him in the Ready Room?"  
  
Phlox narrowed his eyes. "No…I meant her…"  
  
Tucker sighed in exasperation. "Ok, let's stop with the pretending. I want to see Jon."  
  
Phlox frowned. "Commander, he's not here."  
  
"What? Did he go on some mission or somethin'?"  
  
"Not exactly, though some might say he did."  
  
"What are you talking about Phlox? Where is he?" Tucker jumped off the bed and pulled his shirt on.  
  
"Commander…don't you remember?"  
  
"Remember what?" Tucker was getting annoyed.  
  
Phlox hesitated. "I wonder if you've somehow gotten a case of amnesia?"  
  
"If you don't tell me where Jon is right now I'm gonna go insane."  
  
"He's dead Commander." Phlox said.  
  
Tucker smiled slightly. "Ok, enough with the joking. I'm serious Phlox."  
  
"I'm not joking Commander." Phlox frowned again.  
  
"So you're telling me that Captain Jon Archer is dead?" When Phlox nodded Tucker shook his head. "You're lying." Tucker left sickbay in a rush, ignoring Phlox' calls for him to come back.  
  
He didn't know where he was going, but he was getting away from Phlox. He was too convincing. This was all one big joke. Not a funny joke at that. He'd kill Jon himself when he found him.  
  
Tucker walked to Jon's quarter's. He paused and hit the door beacon. When no one answered he let himself in, using his codes. The doors opened to reveal Jon's room. Exactly how Tucker remembered it. Jon was alive. The question was where?  
  
Lieutenant Reed walked by and stopped in the hallway. "Commander? What are you doing in here?"  
  
Tucker turned sharply to stare at his friend. "I'm searching for the Captain."  
  
"She's in her Ready Room."  
  
"You're in on it too?" He just received a blank stare from Reed. "Where's Jon?"  
  
Reed blinked. "He's dead sir. Do you need to go see Phlox?"  
  
Tucker shook his head. What was going on here? He sighed and sat on the bed. "How'd he die?"  
  
Reed walked closer to the doorway and looked at Tucker. "Don't you remember?" Tucker shook his head. "He went on an away mission with Travis. They both returned…dead."  
  
Tucker closed his eyes. This wasn't a joke. They wouldn't have held out so long. And they wouldn't have added Mayweather as dead also. "Who…"  
  
"The Andorians sir."  
  
Tucker looked up at Reed. "The Andorians? Why?"  
  
Reed shrugged. "We don't know. Don't you remember anything?"  
  
Tucker stood up. "I…have to see T'Pol." He rushed past Reed and ran down the hall to the Ready Room. The doors opened for him and he ran in. T'Pol stood up.  
  
"I told you to come here when you where healthy, not to go to Archer's room."  
  
"I…was trying to find Jon."  
  
"Phlox said you had a case of amnesia." She sat back down. "Sit." She said commandingly.  
  
Tucker did not obey. "I need to know what's going on, and I need you to tell me the truth. Is this all a joke? Is the whole ship in on it?"  
  
T'Pol looked at Tucker with cool eyes. "There is no joke Commander."  
  
Tucker sat down in the chair. He was starting to hyperventilate again. He took a few deep breaths and looked at T'Pol. "How?" Reed's answer just wasn't good enough.  
  
"We do not know. We know that the Andorians attacked the shuttle. Mayweather must have turned on the autopilot before he died, because the shuttle just coasted in space. We used the tractor beam to bring it in."  
  
"So now…you're the Captain."  
  
T'Pol nodded. "Yes."  
  
"When did they die?"  
  
"A few months ago."  
  
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. When he went to bed the night before Jon was sitting in the mess hall talking with Reed. He had said goodnight to him himself. "I…need to be excused."  
  
"We need to discuss what to do about the Andorians."  
  
"I need to lie down." Tucker stood up.  
  
"You have an hour." T'Pol said. She went to sit at the desk again.  
  
Tucker went to his quarters and sat at his computer console. He looked up files and public logs. It wasn't hard to find. T'Pol's report on the death of the Captain.  
  
"The ceremony was short, and, apparently emotional, for the humans. Commander Tucker suggested that we send Captain Archer's body out in space, because that is what he would have wanted, so I complied. We sent Ensign Mayweather's body out in space too.  
  
We have not discovered exactly what caused the deaths of Captain Archer and Ensign Mayweather, but we do know it was the Andorians. After the funeral, Commander Tucker buried himself in the files from the shuttle. He has not found any information as of yet.  
  
I have taken command of the ship. Most crewmen are willing to obey me, but I have had a few try to be insubordinate. Commander Tucker has threatened to throw anyone in the brig for insubordinance. He has helped me to get the crew behind me and follow me as they did Captain Archer. Though they are not as loyal to me, they are willing to help me in the search for what happened to Captain Archer and Mayweather."  
  
  
  
That was it. He didn't expect to get a long log from T'Pol. He couldn't help but be proud of how he helped her become captain. Though he didn't remember any of it, he was sure he'd stick behind her, if he knew Jon was dead. And, it was evident that Jon was dead. And along with his death he obviously took the spirit of the ship with him.  
  
Tucker jumped when his door chime went off. "Enter."  
  
Hoshi Sato entered his room. She wore a brilliant smile. "Heard you weren't feeling well. Anything I can do?"  
  
Tucker smiled at her. She was still the same, caring Hoshi. Some things never change. "No, I'm ok. Thanks."  
  
She walked up to him and put her arms around his chest. "Are you sure?" She whispered against his ear.  
  
Tucker jumped up out of the seat. "Hoshi?"  
  
She looked hurt. "What's going on with you today? Malcolm said you didn't even know that Archer and Mayweather were dead."  
  
"I….I don't know." He said flatly. What was going on? First he finds out that two of his friends are dead, and then apparently, that he's had a close relationship with another of his friends. And not even the one he suspected. "I need to lie down."  
  
She nodded. "I'll see you tonight." And before he could ask what for, Hoshi left his quarters as quickly as she'd come in.  
  
Tucker watched her leave and shook his head. He had to figure out what was going on, but first, he needed rest. He walked to his bed and sighed as he plopped down on it. It was a blessing that some things don't change. 


	3. Can we kill them?

3/?  
  
"Commander Tucker." T'Pol's voice boomed over his room.  
  
Tucker wiped his eyes and looked up. He forgot that he was supposed to meet T'Pol. "Sorry T'Pol. I'll be right there." No response. Just as well, he really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. All he wanted to do was to go back to his time. To when Archer was still alive and Travis was always willing to talk.  
  
With a sigh Tucker got up and ran a hand through his hair. There still wasn't a bump. He'd have to figure out what happened, but right now, he had to survive time on this ship, and it seemed that the Andorians were threatening his survival.  
  
He walked into Archer's – T'Pol's – Ready Room and saw the Vulcan staring outside at the stars. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Tucker asked, walking up next to her.  
  
She turned slightly to look at him. "I was just thinking about the Andorians."  
  
"Not what I like to think about, but whatever makes you happy." Tucker sat on the chair.  
  
T'Pol turned to study him. "You seem more relaxed then earlier."  
  
Tucker nodded. "Guess I just needed a nap."  
  
She walked to the computer. "They have been following us for days. Our sensors picked them up this evening."  
  
"And we're sure they killed Jon and Travis?"  
  
T'Pol nodded.  
  
"Then have Reed blow them out of the sky." He knew it wasn't that simple, but it felt good to say.  
  
"We don't know where they are. They are cloaked."  
  
"Cloaked? I didn't know they had that technology."  
  
"Neither did I." T'Pol sat across from him. "We are trying to find a way to decloak them."  
  
"Any ideas on why they are following us?"  
  
T'Pol shook her head. "We think that they believe we have something that they want."  
  
"Like the Vulcans." Tucker nodded. From what he remembered of the Andorians, they were very paranoid. "Why don't you try sending a message to them. One into space that they'd get?"  
  
T'Pol thought a moment. Then she stood up and hit the wall beacon. "T'Pol to Ensign Sato."  
  
"Hoshi here."  
  
T'Pol gave the young ensign the order. A few moments later Hoshi said, "They're hailing us T'Pol."  
  
"On my way." T'Pol nodded to Tucker to follow her to the bridge. 


	4. I don't remember anything.

4/?  
  
Tucker studied T'Pol as she stood in front of the Captain's chair. She stood proudly, tall and erect. The Andorian was staring down at her.  
  
"If you don't leave this space now, we will be forced to kill the rest of your crew."  
  
T'Pol looked at Tucker. He nodded. He didn't want to leave either. He was going to fight these people. These people who killed his captain. Who killed his friends.  
  
"We have no intentions of leaving."  
  
The Andorian frowned, his antennae's wigglin' like crazy. "We will give you one day." Then he closed the comm.  
  
"We don't need one day to tell them we're not leaving." Hoshi said.  
  
"Let me fire on them now T'Pol." Reed asked, an odd tint in his eyes.  
  
Tucker had to smile. "We will not start a battle." She said.  
  
"Then we may not finish one either." Reed murmured.  
  
"We will retaliate Mr. Reed. Using our full force." T'Pol answered.  
  
"I'll be ready."  
  
Tucker walked up to T'Pol. "I need some rest if we're gonna be having a fight tomorrow." She nodded.  
  
Back in his quarters Tucker swallowed some old whiskey. He hadn't had any in a long time, and boy did he need it. He sat down on the couch and drank his whiskey.  
  
Then Hoshi entered, without letting him tell her to come in first. She smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I've been better."  
  
She dimmed the lights before sitting next to him on the couch. "Is that better?"  
  
He nodded. He didn't realize how bright the lights were. "Thanks."  
  
She began to massage his shoulders and Tucker closed his eyes and leaned into her hands. "Oh, that feels good Hoshi."  
  
The room was silent except for his moans of encouragement. He'd needed a good massage for a long time. When Hoshi was finished Tucker almost begged her to continue. But he couldn't speak because she had straddled herself on his lap. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Hoshi?"  
  
There was the hurt look again. "Trip…what's gotten into you?"  
  
"What's gotten into me? You're the one crawling all over me!"  
  
She stood up and folded her arms. "You told me you liked that the other night."  
  
Tucker rubbed his forehead. There went the massage. "Look, Hoshi…" He looked up at her. She was definitely hurt. He hated that he was the cause of that. "I…this is gonna sound crazy, but… I don't remember the other night."  
  
Her gaze turned icy. "If you're trying to break up with me, Mr. Tucker-" Her words were exaggerated, but there was pain in them.  
  
"No, I'm not." Tucker quickly said. "It's just…I honestly don't remember anything from the past few months."  
  
Concern swept across her face. "Why not?"  
  
He rubbed his forehead again. "I don't know."  
  
"What's the last thing you remember?"  
  
Tucker thought about that. He shrugged. "Going to bed on a Saturday night and then waking up to peace and quiet. Usually, on Saturday nights there were always people talking down the hall."  
  
Hoshi smiled. "I remember those nights." She sat next to him again. "And Archer and Mayweather?"  
  
"Alive. I had just had dinner with them."  
  
Hoshi looked at the carpet. "I remember the last thing I said to Archer." Then she looked back up at Tucker. "I begged him to let me go with them. That they'd need me to translate. Archer refused. He said they only had clearance for two, and he needed Travis to fly the shuttlepod."  
  
Tucker put an arm around her. "I must have been hard for you. Losing your Captain."  
  
"You took it the hardest. You wanted to take the shuttlepod and fight the Andorians yourself. You…you scared us when you actually got in the pod. Reed had a phaser on you and was prepared to shoot it. But then, you cracked and began to weep." She looked back down at the carpet.  
  
After a pause Tucker said, "And then you came into the pod and comforted me."  
  
Hoshi nodded. "You remember?"  
  
"I don't know. It just seems like something you'd do."  
  
"That's what started…us. We comforted each other a few nights when neither of us could sleep."  
  
Tucker smiled. "We'd play cards….and…Chinese Checkers."  
  
Hoshi nodded again. "Yes. And we'd drink hot cocoa until the morning, when we'd force ourselves to do our shifts on only a few hours of sleep."  
  
A comfortable silence fell and Tucker sat back and closed his eyes. He tried to remember everything, but only a few things would come back. One late night chat with Reed. An argument with T'Pol. The silence on Saturday nights that took him weeks to get used to. Small things, but important things. 


	5. Attack

5/?  
  
Tucker had gotten a full three hours of peaceful sleep when he suddenly woke up. He sat up in bed and looked around. Hoshi had left hours ago. He rubbed his forehead and blinked. He pushed the covers off and ran to Hoshi's room. He pushed the 'doorbell' five times before she opened the door, irritation clear on her face.  
  
Before she could say anything, Tucker brought her to him and kissed her passionately. When they broke apart they were both panting. She blinked at him a couple of times before she could gather any words. "Trip?" Was all she could manage to say.  
  
"I was sleeping. Sleeping very well as a matter of fact. And then, in my dreams, I was bombarded with all these memories. It all came rushing back, waking me up. It startled me at first, but then, I was thankful, because…" He looked into her eyes. "Because it reminded me how much…" He paused again. "Hoshi, I love you."  
  
Hoshi wiped some stray tears from her cheeks and hugged him tightly. "I love you too Trip." It was the first time they'd said it to each other.  
  
Their emotional embrace was interrupted by T'Pol's voice booming inside Hoshi's room. "T'Pol to Commander Tucker."  
  
"How'd you know I was here?"  
  
"Finding you is not hard Commander, it's getting you to come to me that is hard." T'Pol said.  
  
Tucker smiled. "I'll be there in a minute." He looked down at Hoshi. "I'll be back." He kissed her again before he went to change into his uniform.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"They're hailing us again." Hoshi said from her station.  
  
Tucker looked over at her. She looked so beautiful when she was nervous. T'Pol had warned him earlier that things were gonna get rough. As if he didn't already know.  
  
T'Pol nodded to Hoshi. The Andorian from before came onto the screen. "You have one hour Captain."  
  
"We will be waiting for you." T'Pol challenged.  
  
The Andorian smiled slightly. "You're a feisty one. I think we'll keep you alive."  
  
Something inside Tucker clicked and he straightened up. "You will not harm any more of my crew members."  
  
The Andorian's antennae's wiggled more rapidly. "You pink skins think highly of your Vulcan women it seems."  
  
"We think highly of our Captain." Tucker countered. "Speaking of which, why'd kill our other Captain and crewmember?"  
  
"They threatened us."  
  
"With what?" Tucker asked.  
  
"With their presence." The Andorian laughed slightly before saying, "Enough. You have no intentions of leaving, so I see no point in waiting. I'll see you, Captain, later."  
  
"They're charging weapons!" Reed told the bridge crew.  
  
"Fire on them Mr. Reed. With everything we have." T'Pol ordered.  
  
Reed smiled slightly before he obeyed the command he'd been waiting to hear since they left port.  
  
There was a violent jolt to the ship and everyone fell to the ground. "Report!" Tucker bellowed as he helped T'Pol to her feet. Everyone had to shout over the red alert alarm.  
  
"Shields down at 91 percent!" Ensign Livers reported.  
  
Reed fired the phase cannons before the Andorians countered with another blast to the ship. "84 percent!" Livers reported.  
  
"Lieutenant Reed, you have my permission to use everything on these-" T'Pol was cut off by Tucker.  
  
"Bastards!" He finished for her. She wouldn't say it, so someone had to.  
  
Another hit to the Enterprise, sending everyone to the ground again. Tucker helped Hoshi to her chair and looked over at Livers. He was on the floor, unconscious. Tucker ran to the post and shouted out the reports. "Shields at 72 percent! Hull breaches on deck four and five!"  
  
"Lieutenant!" T'Pol looked at her security officer.  
  
"Just five more minutes and I will have all the weapons in synch." He looked up at T'Pol. "They'll blow them out of the sky Captain."  
  
"Do it fast!" T'Pol ordered, bracing for another impact.  
  
"60 percent!" Tucker said after the fourth blast.  
  
"Two more minutes!" Reed shouted, frantically pushing buttons.  
  
The fifth blast made Tucker's post catch fire. He ran to another computer and reported. "49 percent! Anytime Malcolm!"  
  
Reed didn't answer. "We're gonna die Malcolm! Where are our weapons?" Tucker shouted.  
  
Reed smiled. "Got it! Brace yourselves, this is gonna throw us around." Everyone obeyed as Reed pressed a sequence of buttons.  
  
There were multiple jolts as the phase cannons fired one shot after another. Everyone hung on as they glued their eyes to the viewscreen.  
  
The Andorian ship blew up after the fifth consecutive blast. Reed pressed some more buttons and the ship stopped firing her weapons. T'Pol turned the Red alert off and sat in the Captain's chair. Tucker thought that she would have slumped if she'd been capable of it. The bridge erupted in cheers and everyone clapped Reed on the back. Tucker nodded to him. It was a job well done, though the repairs would be hell.  
  
Author's note: I'm not sure about the attack scene….what do ya'll think? Should I work on it, or is it fine as is? And thanks for the Feedback. (PS, it's not done just yet) 


End file.
